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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25153054">And My Whole Life, Too</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/fallenhurricane/pseuds/fallenhurricane'>fallenhurricane</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>TSC Challenge [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Shadowhunters (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Alternate Universe - Pirate, i don't know what this is, listen i just thought about alec falling off of a ship and then it had to happen, merman!magnus, or something like that, sea merchant!alec</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 03:42:46</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,791</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25153054</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/fallenhurricane/pseuds/fallenhurricane</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>So, yes, it had all become a blur... but that was it before a massive thud shook the deck, wood fracturing under Alec, and he went flying.</p><p>Somehow, his moment in the air felt both inexplicably long and scarily short. He knew he was falling and he knew there was nothing he could do to stop himself. Alec tumbled, ass over head, through the air. </p><p>And then he splashed into the ocean. </p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>TSC Challenge [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1813834</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>55</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>And My Whole Life, Too</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinstripedJackalope/gifts">pinstripedJackalope</a>.</li>


        <li>
            Inspired by

            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25044604">Take My Hand</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinstripedJackalope/pseuds/pinstripedJackalope">pinstripedJackalope</a>.
        </li>

    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Round Two of the TSC AU Challenge! As before, please swing by @pinstripedJackalope's page to see what they've posted. </p><p>And see if you can guess what I pulled out of their first fic to include in this one!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>A thunderous boom woke Alec up. It shook his cabin and his hammock swung wildly as he quickly came to. It was dark, a small lantern flickering in the corner the only source of light. That in itself wasn’t odd, but Jace’s hammock was empty, and so was Raj’s. Their coats still hung on the rack by the door, but their cutlasses were gone. As Alec’s booted feet hit the floor, another boom echoed around him and he flinched.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Like those before him, he left his coat where it was, grabbed his cutlass, and stumbled into the narrow hall outside, squinting. It was pitch black but he could hear water rushing in from somewhere behind him and felt more dripping onto his head. Fuck. They were going down. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>By the time he made it to the main deck, the ship was losing significant height and had tilted to the stern. Alec grappled for footing and grabbed onto a handrail, his boots slipping on the wet wood. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>What he saw on the deck was sheer chaos. A storm brewed overhead, the sky opening and rain falling heavily. His shipmates ran around in a frenzy, cutlasses swinging wildly at people that Alec didn’t recognize. Jace was scaling the ladder to the crow’s nest while trying to fend off a - was that a parrot? - a </span>
  <em>
    <span>bird </span>
  </em>
  <span>that was dive-bombing him with every rung he climbed. Raj was backed into a corner, a large, bulky man dressed in all black and a tricorn hat leering at him. Alec had just started in his direction when a third boom sounded and fire erupted to his right. He whirled around - another ship was rocking in the waves, off of the Angel’s starboard side, and smoke was billowing from its cannons even as rain fell.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Pirates</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t Alec’s first run in with pirates, but it was the first time the Angel had been attacked, the first time pirates had run into them with their figurative guns blazing. And it was the middle of the night. And storming. And now the Angel was on fire. Fuck. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alec caught sight of Lydia, their captain, in a tense battle with two of the pirates - they were each twice her size, but she was quick and agile, she would be fine. He was more worried about Isabelle and the fact that he hadn’t seen her yet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“ALEC!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And that was her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alec turned quickly, raising his cutlass and slicing it down - it cut through the chest of a pirate attempting to sneak up behind him, and he fell with a bodily thud onto the wooden deck, swinging his own sword as he went down. Alec deflected it deftly, and kicked the sword away once the man had fallen. Isabelle skidded to a stop beside him, sliding in the rain, and grabbed him around the waist. “Are you alright?” she asked breathlessly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He squeezed her shoulders. “Yes, you?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She nodded, leaning into the hug briefly before pulling back. “I’m gonna go help Lydia,” and she ran off. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The night became a blur - every time it seemed like the crew of the Angel had the upper hand and had tossed the pirates into the ocean or left them to bleed out on the deck, another group of them would arrive from their ship. </span>
  <em>
    <span>How </span>
  </em>
  <span>many of them were there? Adrenaline was the only thing that kept Alec going as he fought foe after foe, as he saw Jace knocking enemies off the crow’s nest, as he saw Izzy take a swipe to the thigh and grit her teeth and keep fighting. Alec himself wasn’t without injuries; he’d caught a blow to the ribs and a slash to the shoulder, and the heat from the fires that the pirates’ cannons kept starting was taking over the entire ship despite the heavy rain. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So, yes, it had all become a blur. Until Jace fell from the crow’s nest when a heavy blow from the cannons all but knocked it over, and he landed in a heap 10 feet from Alec. Alec let out a shout and rushed towards him, dropping his cutlass as he slid to his knees,  but he never made it to Jace’s side. He saw Jace’s nose, bloody, and his eyes, closed, but that was it before a massive thud shook the deck, wood fracturing under Alec, and he went flying.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Somehow, his moment in the air felt both inexplicably long and scarily short. He knew he was falling and he knew there was nothing he could do to stop himself. He saw his cutlass skidding across the deck, saw Jace’s prone form slide and bump. Lydia and Izzy stumbled where they were holding off a group of pirates, and Raj had fallen onto his side, curled into the fetal position as a foe approached. Somehow, Alec saw all this even as he tumbled, ass over head, through the air. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then he splashed into the ocean. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was </span>
  <em>
    <span>cool</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Almost cold. This was Alec’s first thought. The deck of the Angel had been so hot, so sweaty and chaotic, that the quiet coolness of the water was almost a reprieve. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His second thought was that he couldn’t fucking breathe.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So Alec twisted around, grateful that he had skipped putting on his heavy coat, grateful that he had dropped his large cutlass, and aimed for the surface. Or was it the surface? It was so dark down here. It was like the fires above the surface weren’t even happening, like there was no battle at all. The sounds of the cannons and the shouting were muted and the smell of smoke was gone. Not that Alec could smell anything, because, again, he couldn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>fucking breathe.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>But he was so tired. His legs were cycling below him while his arms waved back and forth, keeping him stable, keeping him from sinking further, but his shoulder ached, and - was that blood? - the ocean was soothing even as the blood from his wound dissolved into the area around him, staining the water. He faintly thought about sharks, and was it a myth that they were drawn to blood? Would he soon be eaten? His ribs had ached from the punch one of the pirates had landed and it had hurt to breathe even above the surface, but down here, down here, not breathing, it felt a little better, and he felt sure that Jace would open his eyes and be fine-</span>
</p><p><em><span>Yes,</span></em><span> came a voice, and it didn’t sound like his and it didn’t sound like Izzy’s or either of their parents’ and those were generally the voices that plagued Alec’s conscience but he’s hearing it in his head, not his ears, </span><em><span>He’ll be alright. It’s better down here, Alec.</span></em> <em><span>Stay. </span></em></p><p>
  <span>And Alec swam forward,  slowly and without much care, his eyes drifting shut only to shoot wide open again when he sensed something, some</span>
  <em>
    <span>one</span>
  </em>
  <span>, with him, deep under the surface. Her skin was blue-ish, and her hair was long and dark and didn't float up around them like it should with the physics of the ocean but instead settled down around her shoulders. She offered Alec a hand, and it had long fingers, scaly and curved and tipped with claws. And he reached out, because despite it all, she was </span>
  <em>
    <span>beautiful</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck off, Camille, </span>
  </em>
  <span>came another thought, another voice, this one smooth and soft even though its words were not, and Alec dazily glanced around as another </span>
  <em>
    <span>someone</span>
  </em>
  <span> appeared. The first someone - </span>
  <em>
    <span>Camille</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Alec thought - sneered and swam away and Alec blinked as he saw her legs were not legs at all but a large fishtail covered in shining blue scales. He blinked again as the pain came back to his shoulder, as his ribs ached again, and his lungs burned for air. He looked around dizzily for the surface, but it was still so dark, and the ocean was still quieting the chaos above. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He must have let out a small whine or let his frantic feelings show on his face, because the new someone rested his hand on Alec’s face and nudged him to look at him. His hair was shorter than Camille’s but just as dark, but his skin was green rather than blue, and his tale shimmered bright green and gold all mixed together. The hand he touched Alec with was cool and gentle. His voice echoed in Alec’s mind again. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Are you okay?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Alec shook his head, dislodging the stranger’s hand. He had no clue how long he’d been underwater at this point but he did know that his lungs needed oxygen. The new arrival squinted at him. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hold still</span>
  </em>
  <span>. And he took Alec’s face in his green hands, leaned in close, pried Alec’s mouth open, and breathed forcefully into it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Water rushed into Alec’s lungs and he sputtered, coughing, jerking back from the tailed being in front of him. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What the fuck?! </span>
  </em>
  <span>Alec thought violently, angrily. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Take a breath.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I’ll die!</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>You can trust me</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I promise</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And he looked sincere, his bright golden eyes shining even in the dark of the ocean, an encouraging smile gracing his lips, so Alec did. He took a breath. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The sensation of inhaling water, especially on purpose, was odd. It rushed through his airways faster than air itself ever had, tripping over itself as it landed in his lungs. But… it didn’t hurt, didn’t even twinge his aching ribs. And it didn’t kill him. And he didn’t drown. Alec’s eyes widened.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>What did you do?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He shrugged. </span>
  <em>
    <span>You can breathe underwater now</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Why?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Otherwise you would die. Camille pulled you quite far down. You’d never make it back to the surface otherwise.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t move, didn’t stop meeting Alec’s gaze. Alec could tell he wasn’t afraid. That he was telling the truth. He looked too unguarded to be lying. Still, Alec squinted.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I have to make sure Jace is okay, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Alec thinks, his gaze shooting to what he thinks is the surface. The image of Jace laying, prone, burns in his mind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He just nods. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Alright.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Alec squints at him again. The being raises his eyebrows. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Who… who are you?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Magnus.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>A mermaid?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Something like that. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Magnus smiled. He held out a hand, palm up. An offering. </span>
  <em>
    <span>If you’d like to go back to the surface, I can help. It can be quite disorienting down here. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Alec stared at him. Magnus shrugged again. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Or you can stay down here. But really. You can trust me. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Alec looked at Magnus’s hand - its claws were short, not as sharp as Camille’s had been, and glittered gold, matching his eyes that shone bright in the darkness. He thought of Jace, of Izzy and Lydia, even of Raj. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Slowly, tentatively, Alec took his hand. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
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